Meeting The Parents
by Mademoiselle Arel
Summary: Rusty brings his new boyfriend home for a family dinner. Fluff ensues. Sharon/Andy, one shot.


**This is a prompt by fuckyeahmyqueen (aka Betty) on Tumblr, and it seemed like a fun one shot. Please note that this is unbeta-d and it's been a while since I've written anything.**

 **Comments are always welcomed and you could always send me prompts.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

There was only one word in the world to describe how he was feeling.

Excitement.

No actually, there was more than one since the feeling of nervousness was also beginning to give him nausea as he took a deep breath and felt his boyfriend giving his hand a slight squeeze. Turning around, he saw him give him a reassuring smile as they quietly ran up the elevator; the tension still present in the air.

Yes, Colin was finally meeting Rusty's family.

It had been awkward first, when he had first asked him, even after Colin had confessed him that he had never met any of his boyfriends parents, Rusty had insisted. Which was why he had found it so adorable in the first place and agreed to it. However as the days grew closer and closer to his official family dinner with Rusty's family, he had felt himself beginning to get nervous. He had even tried to get out of it, finding a lame excuse about an unexpected cold but it had only caused Rusty to roll his eyes and drag him to his car.

So now, standing next to him, one hand clasped tightly in his, the other holding a bouqet of cheap flowers (because he had decided to be polite the last minute), he tried to break into a relaxed smile but his lips ended up curving into a forced and awkward smirk. In return Rusty gave him an equally nervous smile and spoke.

"Relax, I'm sure they'll like you."

Although Colin didn't miss how his eyes evaded his own even for a moment and his palm got sweaty under his own. He watched how his gaze turned to the floor and his teeth came out to chew on his bottom lip, making him want to kiss it off… if he wasn't too damn nervous.

It was good to know that he wasn't the only one.

When the elevator let out that startling sound, indicating that they were at their designated floor, Rusty let go of his hand to fish his keys inside his backpack. He had no choice but to follow him as they left the elevator and walked down the narrow hallway that led them to Rusty's house. At this point his heart was beating harder in his chest and he was praying for everything to go without any problems… and he wasn't the type to pray.

Colin watched with dreadful eyes as the key turned in the lock and Rusty opened the door with caution but before he had time to take another deep breath, he heard him yell.

"We're home!"

Colin thought that was where his nightmare had actually began. If he had thought that his heart was beating fast before, it was nothing compared to that moment as he took a step into the condo and followed his boyfriend to the kitchen where he saw _them_.

Rusty hadn't mentioned anything about his family before, always keeping the matter kind of private, evading the subject whenever it was brought up so Colin didn't know much about his parents. He didn't know about any brothers or sisters, any distant cousins or even what his mom was like except for the one or two times he had seen him talking to his mother on the phone, giving her some excuse about a chess practice when in fact he was spending his time with him. It had made laugh at the time, snicker quietly as Rusty signaled him to shut up but now seeing his mother in person for the first time, Colin did not feel like laughing. Except he settled for a polite smile and not knowing what to do with his hands he shoved the one not holding the ridicilously ostentious bouqet into his pocket.

On the other hand, it was better not too seem so relaxed so he took it back out.

The woman he encountered in the kitchen was far different from what he had in mind. He had always imagined Rusty's mother as a short blonde woman, with soft eyes and an inviting smile, a housewife perhaps, worrying about his son all the while making dinner. But no, he had no imagined this.

In front of him stood a tall, dark red haired woman with her sharp brown eyes and professional looking glasses. She was in front of the kitchen counter, her focus completely on the pot in front of her like she was about to throw away the food if it refused to cooperate with her but when she turned towards the entrance and saw him and Rusty, her eyes softened a little and her lips curved into a slight smile. However before she could utter any words, her attention was on Colin and she raised one eyebrow. Colin felt her eyes on him, giving him a once over from head to toe as he felt his breath caught in his throat and he struggled to find the right words.

She was inspecting him.

"Hi…" was the only weak sound that escaped his throat and only when he felt something stirring in the background, he realized that they weren't the only ones in the kitchen. He was too scared to even notice the white haired guy shuffling through the fridge and only when he took a couple of steps towards the woman and put a hand on her shoulder did he took notice of him.

He seemed a lot softer than who he assumed to be Rusty's mom and he could only assume that this was well… the dad.

Colin stood there, observing each and every move of the couple and saw how the woman's shoulders relaxed a little when the guy touched her as he, much to his surprise, extended a hand towards him.

It took him seconds to realize that yes, he was finally being adressed to.

"Hi, I'm Andy." The guy spoke, giving him an inviting smile and he felt his hand being shot up to meet his as Andy gave him a firm handshake. A bit firmer than he expected…

Then letting go of his hand with a wince, he saw his grip on the woman's shoulder tighten as he waited for her to spoke but when she refused to do so, her gaze focused on the shoes he was wearing, Andy spoke for her.

"And this is Sharon."

He hated himself for wearing sneakers.

Thankfully Rusty broke the uncomfortable silence. "Colin is my…" he started but Colin knew he wasn't ready to use that word yet since they had only been going out for a couple of weeks, so he wasn't surprised when he rephrased. "We're dating."

His gaze flickered back to the couple in front of him as he patiently watched their reaction, ready to flee out of the house if the red haired lady- well.. Sharon decided that he wasn't somehow appropriate for his son. Instead however he was surprised to watch her lips curve into a slight smile as she eyed him more carefully this time.

Andy's reaction was a lot less subtle as he grinned widely and his gaze flickered back and forth between him and Sharon, one hand now at the small of her back, gaughing her reaction. Colin could tell that he was happy with what he saw.

That made his confidence boost a little higher as he smiled slightly, not completely sure what would be appropriate or not. After all, he hadn't actually been on an official family dinner with one of his boyfriends before.

It wasn't long before they were seated at the table, Sharon and Andy right across from him. He couldn't tell why but for some reason Rusty's mother made him nervous. He distantly remembered him mentioning that she was a cop which made him even more stressed and he quickly shut his eyes for a milisecond to think if he had done anything illegal.

He remembered the time he got into a massive fight in high school, almost broke a guy's nose. Suddenly his eyes shot open in panic. What if she had checked his background and knew all about that little fight? What if she was going to charge him with something? What if-

"So Colin, what's your major?"

"Huh?" he was snapped out of his daydream when Sharon's voice cut through the silence, and he watched as her stare stayed fixed on him, awaiting for an answer.

"I am... I…" he stuttered, forgetting his major for a while and he couldn't help but to notice Andy quietly snickering to himself while taking the salad bowl off the counter.

When he sat back down, he noticed Sharon's eyes finally leaving him to land on her husband's who gave her a brief smile in return. He was the only one able to distract that woman and Colin was silenty grateful for it.

"I'm an English major." He suddenly blurted out, cringing at how awkward and nervous he sounded.

"Oh, my nephew is an English major." Andy interrupted, Colin still thankful for the interruption as the table's attention turned to him. He could tell that he was proud as he watched him try and serve the chicken.

"Your nephew dropped out of college." Sharon cut him off as she took the knife from his hands and started cutting the chicken properly.

Colin watched with slight amusement as Andy's face fell and he sat frozen in his seat, eyes stuck on Sharon who was still busy with serving their food.

"What? When?"

"Last year." She replied but unfortunately for Colin, her attention was back on him again. "English is a great major, hope you won't drop out like Nick did."

"Why didn't he tell me?" Andy was still not convinced.

"He was afraid that you'd yell."

"What! I never yell!" yelled Andy and Colin watched Rusty roll his eyes and take a bite from his food.

"I know you don't, honey." Sharon replied, one hand resting on his arm which much to Colin's surprise instantly calmed the guy. "So how did you two meet?"

It seemed like she was the one asking the questions and Andy was the buffer around the house.

"We had a class together." Rusty replied, seemingly more relaxed.

It took about fifteen minutes of interrogation for Sharon to finally start relaxing around Colin. After she learned everything she could about his parents and his studies, he found her smiling more often and even ocassionally making jokes which he forced himself to laugh. Turning around he saw Rusty do the same.

Apparently Andy was the only one laughing at her jokes no matter how corny they were, which brought a smile to his lips. They were kinda… cute. He watched how his hand landed on hers and she held on to it. She didn't let go till the end of the dinner.

He was supposed to stop himself he knew, Sharon and Andy were the ones asking the questions at this table but when the words spilled out of his lips, it was already too late and he was actually curious to know the answer.

"So how did _you_ _guys_ meet?"

Andy's lips instantly curved into an amused smirk and he watched as Sharon's grip tightened on his hand.

"We had a case together." She started but was soon interrupted by him.

"No, _we_ had a case. You were just there to bug us."

"Excuse me?" his attention was now full on Andy.

"We and the Chief had everything under control until you and your team came along."

He could tell from the amused expression on Andy's face that he was enjoying this slight banter with his wife because even though she replied him with equal passion, her voice slightly raised, they did not let go of each other's hand which intrigued Colin even more.

Were they newly weds or something?

"You were the one who called me after that injury!"

He was snapped back to reality at Sharon's voice and he felt Rusty's hand touching his arm to grab his attention. After turning to his boyfriend, he heard him whisper quietly.

"What have you done? Now they won't stop."

His only reply was to smirk back as he carefully eyed the couple before him who were still busy with getting their story straight. He wondered if he took them a long time to confess their feelings for each other and Colin was sure that by the looks of it, it had probably taken them hell of a long time.

He watched from the corner of his eye Rusty finish his dinner. Taking his plate, he walked towards the kitchen and Colin had no choice but follow him, secretly wishing to give the couple of little privacy. They did not even notice them standing up.

"So how's it going so far?" he whispered the minute they were in the kitchen, Andy and Sharon too busy with their banter to even notice their quiet whispering.

"I think they like you." Rusty assured him with a smile playing his lips as both of them turned to watch the couple still seated at the table. Andy was in the middle of explaining the entire case which caused Sharon to let out an annoyed sigh. It only made the boys smirk.

"Are you sure? Sharon seems a bit… tense."

"Tell me about it." Rusty replied, walking back to the table.

After dinner, Colin had told them it was time for him to leave but Andy had insisted on a cup of coffee which he couldn't refuse. After all that man had a convincing smile and he could tell what Sharon liked in him. Everytime he smiled, he couldn't help but smile back and agree with whatever he said. So now they were in the living room, Rusty seated comfortably on the couch with the remote in one hand. As he silently went through various channels, Colin sat on the armchair; one eye on the TV and the other observing the couple in the kitchen. Sharon had insisted on doing the dishes right before joining them in the living room.

He watched quietly as she opened the fridge and frowned. "Andy, you bought the expensive cheese again."

"That's the only kind you eat." The man groaned from the other end of the kitchen.

"It's expensive."

"You like it." He countered one last time before walking over to the fridge himself.

Colin watched Sharon slowly close the fridge with a sigh but unaware of her husband's presence right behind her, she turned around and almost collided with him. It only caused Andy to smirk and lower his head to place a soft kiss on her lips.

This whole evening had confirmed one thing in Colin's eyes; it was that Sharon was a tough woman. She was a tough mom and she was a tough police officer. However he watched with amazement as that woman transformed into a giggly high school girl after that one kiss from Andy and her eyes shined bright with excitement. She bit her lip, completely unaware of Colin watching them, and grabbed his collar to pull him into another sweet kiss, this one longer than before.

When Andy placed a hand on her waist and pulled her a little closer, Colin finally evaded his gaze from the couple, already feeling like a creep for watching them. They looked like they were in their own world, unaware of other people's presence in the room. It amazed him. Who knew old people could still be in love?

It wasn't long before they joined them in the living room, both situated on the other end of the couch. As Andy put an arm around his wife's shoulder, with a toothpick slightly dangling from his mouth. Sharon's hand instantly found his on his lap and held on to it. When she turned her head to him, her eyes spotted the shameful toothpick, causing her to throw him a stern look about it. He in return just shrugged and turned his attention back to Colin.

"Hope you enjoyed the dinner. I made the salad myself."

"Of course I did, it was great." Colin replied, easing back into the arm chair, one hand holding his coffee.

"We'd love to host you again sometime, right Rusty?" Sharon offered, eyes on her son who in return nodded willingly and smiled at Colin.

Colin had thought too much over different scenarious of different disasters that he hadn't even consider the chance of this dinner actually ending on a positive note. Much to his surprise, it had and now Rusty's parents were smiling gleefully at him and he found himself being content with the idea that his boyfriend's parents actually liked him. Letting out a deep breath, his eyes landed on Rusty's.

Yes, maybe he wouldn't mind another dinner with them.

Colin had insisted on walking back to the bus stop himself but Rusty, not wanting to miss the oppurtinity of being alone with him, had told Sharon that he was going to take five minutes to at least walk him to the elevator. Colin didn't want to say no.

"So… your parents are always like this?" he blurted out once they were out of the condo.

Suddenly Rusty's eyes widened at his sentence and he frowned to himself. "My parents?" he repeated, which also caused Colin to draw his eyesbrows together and repeat his question.

"Yeah, are they always this… affectionate?" the image of the couple making out in the kitchen popped into his head but he quickly shook off the thought.

He watched Rusty's lips curve into a smile at his last question, the frown on his face already gone.

"You better get used to it."


End file.
